Saint Mary's beacon. [volume] (Leonard Town, Md.) 1867-1983, 1887-06-02

and strong, one end Of which disar
a pearsd beneath the bed, and the othe
{ beneath the door. In my then pre-
sent condition was suspicious of evil
and my senses were painfully keen
: Rsising the hanging edge of th
. eoverlet looked under the bed. Tn
carpet bag which Laban Shaw had lef
there. was partly open, with the silke,
! line leading-out from it. What coulc
it mean? Had the man accidentl,
carried the end of the line away with
his night dress without noticing it,
| drew the bag out from beneath th,
bed. and as / held its jaws apart
saw within, double barreled pistol
both hammers cooked, bright percus.
sion cars cleaning upon the tubes,
while the silken line, with double end,
was made fast TO the triggers Aud
saw that the muzzel of the pist oil
barrels We're inserted into the end OF
an oblong box, or case Of galvanized
iron. And comprehended, too, that
a very slight pull upon that string
might have discharged the pistol, and =,
therefore, that a man outside of nv
door might have done that thing.
For little time my hands trembled
so that dared not touch the Internal
contrivance; but at length | composed
myself aud went at work. First |
cut the string with my knife, and then.
as carefully as possible, eased down
the hammers Of the pistol, after which
drew it from the iron case. had
just done this when | heard a step in
the hall outside my door. Quick as
thought l sprang up and turned the
key, and threw the door open, and
before me, revealed by the light OF
my own lamp, stood Laban Shaw.
lie was frightened when he saw me,
and trembled like an aspen. l was
stronger than he at any time; and
now he was a child in my hands. l
s'-eed him by the collar and drag
hea MIN in'~ my room, and pointed
tie double bartsled pistol at his
breast aReUdItrssi1Utbit Gvg Al a.v sa,S
me occasion.
He Was abject and terrified. Like
a whipped cur he crawled at my feet
and begged for mercy. His master
had hired him to do it with promise
of great reward. 1t had transpired
that my testimony before the jury
would be conclusive Of Butterworth's
guilt, and Butterworth had taken this
means to get rid of me. In his great
terror the poor accomplice made
full confession, and when he had told
all, | released my grasp. He begged
that would let him go, but l dared
not-my duty would not allow. 1
rang the bell. and in time the hostler,
who slept in the Office, answered my
summons. l sent him for an officer,
and at length had the satisfaction Of
seeing nv prisoner led safely away.
On the following day the carpet
bag was taken before the grand jury
and the iron case examined by an
experienced chemist, assisted by an
old armorer from the arsenal. 1t was
found to contain a illuminate of mer-
curry, mixed with bits of iron; and it
was the opinion OF both the chemist
and the armorer that the power of the
terrific explosive agent, had it been
ignited, as it was placed, beneath my
bed, would not only have been suf-
ticient to blow me to atoms, but that
it would also have literally stripped
and shivered to fragments all of the
house above it.
And a single pull of the silken
string would have been sufficient to
the horrible end And but for my
nervous waking-my incubus of fore
boding-the destroyer would have
come; the fatal cord would have been
touched, the mine sprung and | should
have been launched into eternity as
If on the lightninG's bolt.
And so Gabriel Butterworth did moi
procure the destruction of my testi.
mony, but, through that testimony
the grand jury found cause for indict
ment OF far graver character than had
at first been anticipated; and of thos'
. graver charges he was convicted
Seth Daman received back the ful
sum be had intrusted to the falls
! mans care, aud shortly afterward ]
, entered into business with and to-day
Seth Damon and I are partners. La
; ban Shaw came out from prison an
: went TO Idaho. I have not heard Q
him since. Gabriel Butterworth di,
not live to serve out his full term c
sentence.-Tcronfo Mail.
RSr An old negro cook says, "Sas